Mobile Learning Content Authoring Tools (MLCATs): A Systematic Review

Mobile learning is currently receiving a lot of attention within the education arena, particularly within electronic learning. This is attributed to the increasing mobile penetration rates and the subsequent increases in university student enrolments. Mobile Learning environments are supported by a number of crucial services such as content creation which require an authoring tool. The last decade or so has witnessed increased attention to tools for authoring mobile learning content for education. This can be seen from the vast number of conference and journal publications devoted to the topic. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to review works that were published, suggest a new classification framework and explore each of the classification features. This paper is based on a systematic review of mobile learning content authoring tools (MLCATs) from 2000 to 2009. The framework is developed based on a number of dimensions such as system type, development context, Tools and Technologies used, tool availability, ICTD relation, support for standards, learning style support, media supported and tool purpose. This paper provides a means for researchers to extract assertions and several important lessons for the choice and implementation of MLCATs

Low Resource, Post-processed Lecture Recording from 4K Video Streams

Many universities are using lecture recording technology to expand the reach of their teaching programs, and to continue instruction when face to face lectures are not possi- ble. Increasingly, high-resolution 4K cameras are used, since they allow for easy reading of board/screen context. Unfortunately, while 4K cameras are now quite affordable, the back-end computing infrastructure to process and distribute a multitude of recorded 4K streams can be costly. Furthermore, the bandwidth requirements for a 4K stream are exorbitant - running to over 2GB for a 45-60 minute lecture. These factors mitigate against the use of such technology in a low-resource environment, and motivated our investigation into methods to reduce resource requirements for both the institution and students. We describe the design and implementation of a low resource 4K lecture recording solution, which addresses these problems through a computationally efficient video processing pipeline. The pipeline consists of a front-end, which segments presenter motion and writing/board surfaces from the stream and a back-end, which serves as a virtual cinematographer (VC), combining this contextual information to draw attention to the lecturer and relevant content. The bandwidth saving is realized by defining a smaller fixed-size, context-sensitive ‘cropping window’ and generating a new video from the crop regions. The front-end utilises computationally cheap temporal frame differencing at its core: this does not require expensive GPU hardware and also limits the memory required for processing. The VC receives a small set of motion/content bounding boxes and applies established framing heuristics to determine which region to extract from the full 4K frame. Performance results coupled to a user survey show that the system is fit for purpose: it is able to produce good presenter framing/context, over a range of challenging lecture venue layouts and lighting conditions within a time that is acceptable for lecture video processing

Introducing Handwriting into a Multimodal LATEX Formula Editor

Handwriting has been shown to be a useful input modality for math. However, math recognizers are imperfect, especially when recognizing complex expressions. Instead of improving the recognizer itself, we explore ways to best visualize the recognizer\u27s output to help the user fix recognition mistakes more efficiently. To do this, we propose changes to the visual editing operations in MathDeck, a math-aware search engine and formula editor, as well as the addition of an n-best list of results for each symbol in the recognizer\u27s output. We present two experiments to help us find good ways to help users fix errors in the recognizer, and to test whether these changes help novices input formulas more efficiently than they would if they did not have handwriting as an input modality. In the first experiment, users had the option to fix errors with an in-place drop-down menu of alternate symbols, a side symbol correction panel, or by typing the symbols themselves or dragging them from a symbol palette. In our experiment, most users preferred to fix the errors manually by typing the correct symbols or using the symbol palette. In the second experiment, participants entered formulas using handwriting and/or LaTeX. We found evidence that suggests that novices can input formulas faster when they have access to handwriting, but experts still do better when they can just type LaTeX

Retrieval-, Distributed-, and Interleaved Practice in the Classroom:A Systematic Review

Three of the most effective learning strategies identified are retrieval practice, distributed practice, and interleaved practice, also referred to as desirable difficulties. However, it is yet unknown to what extent these three practices foster learning in primary and secondary education classrooms (as opposed to the laboratory and/or tertiary education classrooms, where most research is conducted) and whether these strategies affect different students differently. To address these gaps, we conducted a systematic review. Initial and detailed screening of 869 documents found in a threefold search resulted in a pool of 29 journal articles published from 2006 through June 2020. Seventy-five effect sizes nested in 47 experiments nested in 29 documents were included in the review. Retrieval- and interleaved practice appeared to benefit students’ learning outcomes quite consistently; distributed practice less so. Furthermore, only cognitive Student*Task characteristics (i.e., features of the student’s cognition regarding the task, such as initial success) appeared to be significant moderators. We conclude that future research further conceptualising and operationalising initial effort is required, as is a differentiated approach to implementing desirable difficulties

Violin Virtuoso: A game for violin education

This study develops a way to use the technology of video games to help teach people the violin. The unique characteristics of this research are to create a visual representation for music for violinists, to utilize pedagogy for violin education within a video game, and to use the Fast Fourier Transform to process input from an actual acoustic instrument and use the data to track user progress. Music games like JamGuru [9], Rocksmith [19], LittleBigStar [13], and Rock Band [18] have made strides in these areas of research; however, most of these technologies have not been applied to the violin. Expected results are that students' progress rate will increase as a result of playing the game. The input processing used in this research could be applied to areas where sound recognition is important. Furthermore, the concept of an adaptable game can be applied to other academic subjects

Lernen, Lehren und Forschen in einer digital geprägten Welt. Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Chemie und Physik. Jahrestagung in Aachen 2022

Die Tagung der Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Chemie und Physik (GDCP) fand vom 12. bis zum 15. September 2022 an der RWTH Aachen statt. Der vorliegende Band umfasst die ausgearbeiteten Beiträge der Teilnehmenden zum Thema: "Lernen, Lehren und Forschen in der digital geprägten Welt"

Taphonomy, environment or human plant exploitation strategies?: Deciphering changes in Pleistocene-Holocene plant representation at Umhlatuzana rockshelter, South Africa

The period between ~40 and 20 ka BP encompassing the Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Later Stone Age (LSA) transition has long been of interest because of the associated technological change. Understanding this transition in southern Africa is complicated by the paucity of archaeological sites that span this period. With its occupation sequence spanning the last ~70,000 years, Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter is one of the few sites that record this transition. Umhlatuzana thus offers a great opportunity to study past environmental dynamics from the Late Pleistocene (MIS 4) to the Late Holocene, and past human subsistence strategies, their social organisation, technological and symbolic innovations. Although organic preservation is poor (bones, seeds, and charcoal) at the site, silica phytoliths preserve generally well throughout the sequence. These microscopic silica particles can identify different plant types that are no longer visible at the site because of decomposition or burning to a reliable taxonomical level. Thus, to trace site occupation, plant resource use, and in turn reconstruct past vegetation, we applied phytolith analyses to sediment samples of the newly excavated Umhlatuzana sequence. We present results of the phytolith assemblage variability to determine change in plant use from the Pleistocene to the Holocene and discuss them in relation to taphonomical processes and human plant gathering strategies and activities. This study ultimately seeks to provide a palaeoenvironmental context for modes of occupation and will shed light on past human-environmental interactions in eastern South Africa.NWOVidi 276-60-004Human Origin

Neolithic land-use in the Dutch wetlands: estimating the land-use implications of resource exploitation strategies in the Middle Swifterbant Culture (4600-3900 BCE)

The Dutch wetlands witness the gradual adoption of Neolithic novelties by foraging societies during the Swifterbant period. Recent analyses provide new insights into the subsistence palette of Middle Swifterbant societies. Small-scale livestock herding and cultivation are in evidence at this time, but their importance if unclear. Within the framework of PAGES Land-use at 6000BP project, we aim to translate the information on resource exploitation into information on land-use that can be incorporated into global climate modelling efforts, with attention for the importance of agriculture. A reconstruction of patterns of resource exploitation and their land-use dimensions is complicated by methodological issues in comparing the results of varied recent investigations. Analyses of organic residues in ceramics have attested to the cooking of aquatic foods, ruminant meat, porcine meat, as well as rare cases of dairy. In terms of vegetative matter, some ceramics exclusively yielded evidence of wild plants, while others preserve cereal remains. Elevated δ15N values of human were interpreted as demonstrating an important aquatic component of the diet well into the 4th millennium BC. Yet recent assays on livestock remains suggest grazing on salt marshes partly accounts for the human values. Finally, renewed archaeozoological investigations have shown the early presence of domestic animals to be more limited than previously thought. We discuss the relative importance of exploited resources to produce a best-fit interpretation of changing patterns of land-use during the Middle Swifterbant phase. Our review combines recent archaeological data with wider data on anthropogenic influence on the landscape. Combining the results of plant macroremains, information from pollen cores about vegetation development, the structure of faunal assemblages, and finds of arable fields and dairy residue, we suggest the most parsimonious interpretation is one of a limited land-use footprint of cultivation and livestock keeping in Dutch wetlands between 4600 and 3900 BCE.NWOVidi 276-60-004Human Origin

Ways and Capacity in Archaeological Data Management in Serbia

Over the past year and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world has witnessed inequalities across borders and societies. They also include access to archaeological resources, both physical and digital. Both archaeological data creators and users spent a lot of time working from their homes, away from artefact collections and research data. However, this was the perfect moment to understand the importance of making data freely and openly available, both nationally and internationally. This is why the authors of this paper chose to make a selection of data bases from various institutions responsible for preservation and protection of cultural heritage, in order to understand their policies regarding accessibility and usage of the data they keep. This will be done by simple visits to various web-sites or data bases. They intend to check on the volume and content, but also importance of the offered archaeological heritage. In addition, the authors will estimate whether the heritage has adequately been classified and described and also check whether data is available in foreign languages. It needs to be seen whether it is possible to access digital objects (documents and the accompanying metadata), whether access is opened for all users or it requires a certain hierarchy access, what is the policy of usage, reusage and distribution etc. It remains to be seen whether there are public API or whether it is possible to collect data through API. In case that there is a public API, one needs to check whether datasets are interoperable or messy, requiring data cleaning. After having visited a certain number of web-sites, the authors expect to collect enough data to make a satisfactory conclusion about accessibility and usage of Serbian archaeological data web bases