Potential of information technology in dental education

The use of information technology (IT) in dentistry is far ranging. In order to produce a working document for the dental educator, this paper focuses on those methods where IT can assist in the education and competence development of dental students and dentists (e.g. e-learning, distance learning, simulations and computer-based assessment). Web pages and other information-gathering devices have become an essential part of our daily life, as they provide extensive information on all aspects of our society. This is mirrored in dental education where there are many different tools available, as listed in this report. IT offers added value to traditional teaching methods and examples are provided. In spite of the continuing debate on the learning effectiveness of e-learning applications, students request such approaches as an adjunct to the traditional delivery of learning materials. Faculty require support to enable them to effectively use the technology to the benefit of their students. This support should be provided by the institution and it is suggested that, where possible, institutions should appoint an e-learning champion with good interpersonal skills to support and encourage faculty change. From a global prospective, all students and faculty should have access to e-learning tools. This report encourages open access to e-learning material, platforms and programs. The quality of such learning materials must have well defined learning objectives and involve peer review to ensure content validity, accuracy, currency, the use of evidence-based data and the use of best practices. To ensure that the developers' intellectual rights are protected, the original content needs to be secure from unauthorized changes. Strategies and recommendations on how to improve the quality of e-learning are outlined. In the area of assessment, traditional examination schemes can be enriched by IT, whilst the Internet can provide many innovative approaches. Future trends in IT will evolve around improved uptake and access facilitated by the technology (hardware and software). The use of Web 2.0 shows considerable promise and this may have implications on a global level. For example, the one-laptop-per-child project is the best example of what Web 2.0 can do: minimal use of hardware to maximize use of the Internet structure. In essence, simple technology can overcome many of the barriers to learning. IT will always remain exciting, as it is always changing and the users, whether dental students, educators or patients are like chameleons adapting to the ever-changing landscape.

An Experience-Driven Pedagogy for the Instruction of Software Testing in Computer Science

In the realm of computer programming, the experience of writing a program is used to reinforce concepts and evaluate ability. This research uses three case studies to evaluate the introduction of testing through Kolb's Experiential Learning Model (ELM). We then analyze the impact of those testing experiences to determine methods for improving future courses. The first testing experience that students encounter are unit test reports in their early courses. This course demonstrates that automating and improving feedback can provide more ELM iterations. The JUnit Generation (JUG) tool also provided a positive experience for the instructor by reducing the overall workload. Later, undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to work together in a multi-role Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) course. The interactions use usability analysis techniques with graduate students as usability experts and undergraduate students as design engineers. Students get experience testing the user experience of their product prototypes using methods varying from heuristic analysis to user testing. From this course, we learned the importance of the instructors role in the ELM. As more roles were added to the HCI course, a desire arose to provide more complete, quality assured software. This inspired the addition of unit testing experiences to the course. However, we learned that significant preparations must be made to apply the ELM when students are resistant. The research presented through these courses was driven by the recognition of a need for testing in a Computer Science curriculum. Our understanding of the ELM suggests the need for student experience when being introduced to testing concepts. We learned that experiential learning, when appropriately implemented, can provide benefits to the Computer Science classroom. When examined together, these course-based research projects provided insight into building strong testing practices into a curriculum.

Learning Software Engineering via Internet

In recent years, education authorities worldwide, including the German Federal Government, have invested heavily in the development of e-learning and multimedia materials for institutions of higher learning. While for some subject matters the benefits of e-learning seem obvious, there are subjects, often consisting of a number of tenuously connected topics or requiring a balance of learning and training, for which it is a valid question whether appropriate learning materials can be presented via the Internet. Software Engineering belongs to this second group, both for its broad collection of topics and, particularly, for the required emphasis on teamwork and communication training.

Action Research and Learning Analytics in Higher Education

Teaching is a dynamic activity. It can be very effective, if its impact is constantly monitored and adjusted to the demands of changing social contexts and needs of learners. This implies that teachers need to be aware about teaching and learning processes. Moreover, they should constantly question their didactical methods and the learning resources, which they provide to their students. They should reflect if their actions are suitable, and they should regulate their teaching, e.g., by updating learning materials based on new knowledge about learners, or by motivating learners to engage in further learning activities. In the last years, a rising interest in ‘learning analytics’ is observable. This interest is motivated by the availability of massive amounts of educational data. Also, the continuously increasing processing power, and a strong motivation for discovering new information from these pools of educational data, is pushing further developments within the learning analytics research field. Learning analytics could be a method for reflective teaching practice that enables and guides teachers to investigate and evaluate their work in future learning scenarios. However, this potentially positive impact has not yet been sufficiently verified by learning analytics research. Another method that pursues these goals is ‘action research’. Learning analytics promises to initiate action research processes because it facilitates awareness, reflection and regulation of teaching activities analogous to action research. Therefore, this thesis joins both concepts, in order to improve the design of learning analytics tools. Central research question of this thesis are: What are the dimensions of learning analytics in relation to action research, which need to be considered when designing a learning analytics tool? How does a learning analytics dashboard impact the teachers of technology-enhanced university lectures regarding ‘awareness’, ‘reflection’ and ‘action’? Does it initiate action research? Which are central requirements for a learning analytics tool, which pursues such effects? This project followed design-based research principles, in order to answer these research questions. The main contributions are: a theoretical reference model that connects action research and learning analytics, the conceptualization and implementation of a learning analytics tool, a requirements catalogue for useful and usable learning analytics design based on evaluations, a tested procedure for impact analysis, and guidelines for the introduction of learning analytics into higher education.

Social-Software-Portfolios im Einsatz

Die Dissertationsschrift widmet sich der Erforschung des Online-Lernens mittels Weblogs unter Anwendung der E-Portfolio Methode als einer seit mehreren Jahren verstärkt aufkommenden Lern- und Präsentationsform im Bildungskontext. Über mehrere Lehrveranstaltungen des Studiengangs "Angewandte Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft" an der Technischen Universität Ilmenau hinweg wurden drei Fallstudien gebildet. Innerhalb dieser wurde das Führen von eigenen E-Portfolio Blogs durch Studierende über einen Zeitraum von etwa drei Jahren evaluiert. Als Evaluationsziel wurde anhand spezifischer Fragestellungen ermittelt, wie das damit einhergehende selbstgesteuert-konnektive Lernen zu entsprechendem Erfolg führen kann. Hierbei wurde insbesondere die Teildimension Medienkompetenz im Spannungsfeld von Lernaktivität, Wissenserwerb und Informations-/Wissensmanagement betrachtet sowie weitere intervenierende Variablen, wie zum Beispiel Aufwand oder Akzeptanz, berücksichtigt. Inhaltlich wurden zunächst begriffliche Grundlagen dargestellt, die Nutzung von E-Portfolios in Theorie und Praxis beschrieben, Medienkompetenz-Ansätze detailliert aufgezeigt sowie in den Kontext von E-Portfolios gebracht und schließlich eine umfangreiche Analyse des Forschungsstandes aufbereitet. Diese gingen mit Erkenntnissen aus einer qualitativen Vorstudie in Form von fünf leitfadengestützten Experteninterviews einher. Die darauf aufbauende Hauptstudie widmete sich anschließend der Erhebung und Auswertung quantitativer Daten anhand von Online-Befragungen mit den Studierenden zu fünf Zeitpunkten aus intra- und interindividueller Perspektive. Als markanteste empirische Erkenntnis der Arbeit kann festgehalten werden, dass es durch das selbstgesteuert-konnektive Lernen mit E-Portfolio Blogs zu einer nachhaltigen Förderung der Medienkompetenz kommt, die sich auch in signifikanten Zusammenhängen mit den anderen Teildimensionen und intervenierenden Variablen widerspiegelt. Darüber hinaus bieten sich aber auch Potenziale für eine steigende Lernaktivität, einen ansteigenden Wissenserwerb und ein verbessertes Informations-/Wissensmanagement, die es aber noch weiterführend zu erforschen gilt. Demgegenüber können allerdings der entstehende und kontinuierlich hohe Aufwand sowie die erforderliche (Eigen-) Motivation als entscheidende Herausforderungen dieser Lernmethode identifiziert werden.

Food availability in the home and dietary intake of the Harris County Department of Education Head Start population

Background. The prevalence of obesity and overweight children has been an ongoing health epidemic in the US for the last several decades. The problem has consistently worsened and has disproportionately been the most prevalent among low socioeconomic status (SES) populations. Food availability in the home has been suggested to be a potential factor related to overweight and obesity, as availability is likely associated with intake. Food availability of low SES preschool aged children has not been well examined. The purpose of this study was to explore the food environment of the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) Head Start population, and describe reported frequency of intake of particular food groups. The effect of food availability on reported intake was also examined.^ Methods. This was a cross-sectional study of secondary data analysis. Data obtained from 17 HCDE Head Start Centers was analyzed using PASW 18 Statistical Software. Demographic analyses included population, age, gender, race, parent occupation, type of home, and language spoken in the home. Descriptive statistics included reported availability of foods in the home as well as frequency of intake.^ Regression analysis examined the relationship of availability of foods on intake. The food categories included were: dark leafy green and orange vegetables, other vegetables, fruits, soda, salty snacks, and sweet snacks. For both vegetable categories reported intake of fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables were included. For the fruit category, intake of fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits were reported.^ Results. Results showed that 90-95% of parents reported having vegetables and fruits available in the home. However, the only significant relationship between availability and intake was for fresh fruit and dried fruit. No associations were seen among the vegetable groups. Other vegetables (bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, onions, iceberg lettuce, asparagus) that were frozen, approached significance for availability on intake, however once adjusted for confounders the relationship was no longer present. Among soda, salty snacks, and sweet snacks the only significant relationship was seen for soda availability and intake. Salty snacks and sweet snacks presence in the home was not a predictor of increased frequency of intake.^ Conclusions. This research supported the hypothesis that availability of foods has an impact on intake for fresh fruits, dried fruits and soda. No associations were seen for vegetables, salty snacks and sweet snacks. Additionally, most of the parents reported having fruits and vegetables in the home, but reported intakes were not meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations. Strengths of the study included the large sample size taken from numerous HCDE Head Start Centers. Limitations included questionable reliability of participant’s responses, ability to generalize to other populations, and the use of secondary data rather than prospectively collected data.^

OJS Implementation and development of the Scientific Journals Site of the School of Humanities and Education Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo describir la experiencia de implementación y desarrollo del Portal de revistas de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de Educación de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata a fin de que pueda ser aprovechada por todos aquellos que emprendan iniciativas de características similares. Para ello, se realiza en primer lugar un repaso por la trayectoria de la Facultad respecto a la edición de revistas científicas y la labor bibliotecaria para contribuir a su visualización. En segundo orden, se exponen las tareas llevadas adelante por la Prosecretaría de Gestión Editorial y Difusión (PGEyD) de la Facultad para concretar la puesta en marcha del portal. Se hace especial referencia a la personalización del software, a la metodología utilizada para la carga masiva de información en el sistema (usuarios y números retrospectivos) y a los procedimientos que permiten la inclusión en repositorio institucional y en el catálogo web de todos los contenidos del portal de manera semi-automática. Luego, se hace alusión al trabajo que se está realizando en relación al soporte y a la capacitación de los editores. Se exponen, después, los resultados conseguidos hasta el momento en un año de trabajo: creación de 10 revistas, migración de 4 títulos completos e inclusión del 25de las contribuciones publicadas en las revistas editadas por la FaHCE. A modo de cierre se enuncian una serie de desafíos que la Prosecretaría se ha propuesto para mejorar el Portal y optimizar los flujos de trabajo intra e interinstitucionales

OJS Implementation and development of the Scientific Journals Site of the School of Humanities and Education Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo describir la experiencia de implementación y desarrollo del Portal de revistas de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de Educación de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata a fin de que pueda ser aprovechada por todos aquellos que emprendan iniciativas de características similares. Para ello, se realiza en primer lugar un repaso por la trayectoria de la Facultad respecto a la edición de revistas científicas y la labor bibliotecaria para contribuir a su visualización. En segundo orden, se exponen las tareas llevadas adelante por la Prosecretaría de Gestión Editorial y Difusión (PGEyD) de la Facultad para concretar la puesta en marcha del portal. Se hace especial referencia a la personalización del software, a la metodología utilizada para la carga masiva de información en el sistema (usuarios y números retrospectivos) y a los procedimientos que permiten la inclusión en repositorio institucional y en el catálogo web de todos los contenidos del portal de manera semi-automática. Luego, se hace alusión al trabajo que se está realizando en relación al soporte y a la capacitación de los editores. Se exponen, después, los resultados conseguidos hasta el momento en un año de trabajo: creación de 10 revistas, migración de 4 títulos completos e inclusión del 25de las contribuciones publicadas en las revistas editadas por la FaHCE. A modo de cierre se enuncian una serie de desafíos que la Prosecretaría se ha propuesto para mejorar el Portal y optimizar los flujos de trabajo intra e interinstitucionales

OJS Implementation and development of the Scientific Journals Site of the School of Humanities and Education Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo describir la experiencia de implementación y desarrollo del Portal de revistas de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de Educación de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata a fin de que pueda ser aprovechada por todos aquellos que emprendan iniciativas de características similares. Para ello, se realiza en primer lugar un repaso por la trayectoria de la Facultad respecto a la edición de revistas científicas y la labor bibliotecaria para contribuir a su visualización. En segundo orden, se exponen las tareas llevadas adelante por la Prosecretaría de Gestión Editorial y Difusión (PGEyD) de la Facultad para concretar la puesta en marcha del portal. Se hace especial referencia a la personalización del software, a la metodología utilizada para la carga masiva de información en el sistema (usuarios y números retrospectivos) y a los procedimientos que permiten la inclusión en repositorio institucional y en el catálogo web de todos los contenidos del portal de manera semi-automática. Luego, se hace alusión al trabajo que se está realizando en relación al soporte y a la capacitación de los editores. Se exponen, después, los resultados conseguidos hasta el momento en un año de trabajo: creación de 10 revistas, migración de 4 títulos completos e inclusión del 25de las contribuciones publicadas en las revistas editadas por la FaHCE. A modo de cierre se enuncian una serie de desafíos que la Prosecretaría se ha propuesto para mejorar el Portal y optimizar los flujos de trabajo intra e interinstitucionales

How Blended Learning Reduce Underachievement in Higher Education: An Experience in Teaching Computer Sciences.

This paper presents a blended learning approach and a study evaluating instruction in a software engineering-related course unit as part of an undergraduate engineering degree program in computing. In the past, the course unit had a lecture-based format. In view of student underachievement and the high course unit dropout rate, a distance-learning system was deployed, where students were allowed to choose between a distance-learning approach driven by a moderate constructivist instructional model or a blended-learning approach. The results of this experience are presented, with the aim of showing the effectiveness of the teaching/learning system deployed compared to the lecture-based system previously in place. The grades earned by students under the new system, following the distance-learning and blended-learning courses, are compared statistically to the grades attained in earlier years in the traditional face-to-face classroom (lecture-based) learning.

Virtual Learning Environments In Faculties Of Education In Spain: Changes On Student Attitude

This paper presents some results of a R+D project entitled “e-Learning system for Practical Training of University students in Education Faculties (ForELearn)”, developed in Spain by the Universidad de Granada and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. In a first phase, through the use of AulaWeb Learning Management System, a set of adaptations and improvements of this software application have been done for the design and development of an experimental course of Practicum supervision. Next, the implementation of this course by means of a group of face to face and online seminars provides experimental data for the analysis and discussion about the point of view of users (preservice teachers) that have tracked their practice supervision with AulaWeb.

Desarrollo de una aplicación software para laboratorios remotos

Las prácticas en laboratorios forman una parte muy importante de la formación en todos los programas docentes. A pesar de esta importancia, la creación de un laboratorio no es una tarea fácil, ya que el hecho de equipar un laboratorio puede suponer un gran gasto económico, tanto inicial como posterior. Como solución, surge la educación a distancia, y en concreto los laboratorios virtuales, es decir, simulaciones de un laboratorio real utilizando modelos matemáticos. Por sus características y flexibilidad se han ido desarrollando laboratorios virtuales en el ámbito docente, pero no todas las áreas cuentan con tantas posibilidades o facilidades como en la electrónica. La mayoría de los laboratorios accesibles desde Internet que hay en la actualidad dentro de la enseñanza a distancia o formación online, son virtuales. El laboratorio que se ha desarrollado tiene como principal ventaja la realización de prácticas controlando instrumentos y circuitos reales de forma remota. El proyecto consiste en realizar un sistema software para implementar un laboratorio remoto en el área de la electrónica analógica, que pueda ser utilizado como complemento a las actividades formativas que se realizan en los laboratorios de los centros de enseñanza. El sistema completo también consta de un hardware controlado mediante buses de comunicación estándar, que permite la implementación de distintos circuitos analógicos, de tal forma que se pueda realizar prácticas sobre circuitos físicos reales. Para desarrollar un laboratorio lo más real posible, la aplicación que maneja el estudiante es un visor 3D. Con la utilización de un visor 3D lo que se pretende es tener un aumento de la realidad a la hora de realizar las prácticas de laboratorio remotamente. El sistema desarrollado cuenta con un sistema de comunicación basado en un modelo cliente-servidor: • Servidor: se encarga de procesar las acciones que realiza el cliente y controla y monitoriza los instrumentos y dispositivos del sistema hardware. • Cliente: sería el usuario final, que mediante un visor 3D comunica las acciones a realizar al servidor para que éste las procese. Practices in laboratories are a very important part of training in all educational programs. Despite this importance, the establishment of a laboratory is not an easy task, since the fact of equipping a laboratory can be a great economic budget, both initial and subsequent spending. As a solution, appears the education at distance (online), and in particular the virtual labs, namely simulations of a real laboratory by using mathematical models. Virtual laboratories in the field of teaching have been developed for its features and flexibility, but not all areas have so many possibilities or facilities as in electronics. The most accessible laboratories from the Internet that are currently accessible within the distance or e-learning (on-line) are virtual. The laboratory which has been developed has as a main advantage to make practices or exercises in the fact of controlling instruments and real circuits remotely. The project consists of making a software system in order to implement a remote laboratory in the area of analog electronics that can be used as a complement to the others training activities to be carried out. The complete system also consists of a controlled hardware by standard communication buses that allow the implementation of several analog circuits, in such a way that practices can control real physical circuits. To develop a laboratory as more realistic as possible, the application that manages the student is a 3D viewer. With the use of a 3D viewer, is intended to have an increase in reality when any student wants to access to laboratory practices remotely. The developed system has a communication system based on a model Client/Server: • Server: The system that handles actions provided by the client and controls and monitors the instruments and devices in the hardware system. • Client: The end user, which using a 3D viewer, communicates the actions to be performed at the server so that it will process them.

Thermal food processing optimization: Algorithms and software

The algorithms and graphic user interface software package ?OPT-PROx? are developed to meet food engineering needs related to canned food thermal processing simulation and optimization. The adaptive random search algorithm and its modification coupled with penalty function?s approach, and the finite difference methods with cubic spline approximation are utilized by ?OPT-PROx? package (http://tomakechoice. com/optprox/index.html). The diversity of thermal food processing optimization problems with different objectives and required constraints are solvable by developed software. The geometries supported by the ?OPT-PROx? are the following: (1) cylinder, (2) rectangle, (3) sphere. The mean square error minimization principle is utilized in order to estimate the heat transfer coefficient of food to be heated under optimal condition. The developed user friendly dialogue and used numerical procedures makes the ?OPT-PROx? software useful to food scientists in research and education, as well as to engineers involved in optimization of thermal food processing.

Web-based education in Spanish Universities. A Comparison of Open Source E-Learning Platforms

Web-based education or „e-learning‟ has become a critical component in higher education for the last decade, replacing other distance learning methods, such as traditional computer training or correspondence learning. The number of university students who take on-line courses is continuously increasing all over the world. In Spain, nearly a 90% of the universities have an institutional e-learning platform and over 60% of the traditional on-site courses use this technology as a supplement to the traditional face-to-face classes. This new form of learning allows the disappearance of geographical barriers and enables students to schedule their own learning process, among some other advantages. On-line education is developed through specific software called „e-learning platform‟ or „virtual learning environment‟ (VLE). A considerable number of web-based tools to deliver distance courses are currently available. Open source software packages such as Moodle, Sakai, dotLRN or Dokeos are the most commonly used in the virtual campuses of Spanish universities. This paper analyzes the possibilities that virtual learning environments provide university teachers and learners and offers a technical comparison among some of the most popular e-learning learning platforms.

A platform for real-time control education with LEGO MINDSTORMS.

A set of software development tools for building real-time control systems on a simple robotics platform is described in the paper. The tools are being used in a real-time systems course as a basis for student projects. The development platform is a low-cost PC running GNU/Linux, and the target system is LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, thus keeping the cost of the laboratory low. Real-time control software is developed using a mixed paradigm. Functional code for control algorithms is automatically generated in C from Simulink models. This code is then integrated into a concurrent, real-time software architecture based on a set of components written in Ada. This approach enables the students to take advantage of the high-level, model-oriented features that Simulink oers for designing control algorithms, and the comprehensive support for concurrency and real-time constructs provided by Ada.