Mobile application development exploiting science gateway technologies

Nowadays, collaborative applications are valuable tools for scientists to share their studies and experiences, for example, by interacting simultaneously with their data and outcomes giving feedback to other colleagues on how the data are processed. This paper presents a mobile application connected to a workflow-enabled framework to perform visualization and data analysis of large-scale, multi-dimensional datasets on distributed computing infrastructures. In particular, the usage of workflow-driven applications, through science gateway technologies, allows the scientist to share heavy data exploration tasks as workflows and the relative results in a transparent and user-friendly way

El diseño de entornos de aprendizaje colaborativo a través del programa Knowledge Forum : análisis de una experiencia

Este artículo aborda la problemática en el diseño de entornos de aprendizaje colaborativos con soporte tecnológico en la enseñanza universitaria. Concretamente, se describe la investigación realizada a través de la creación de una metodología de trabajo orientada a la resolución de problemas y desarrollada a través de una plataforma tecnológica -el programa Knowledge Forum- centrado en tres cursos universitarios en la Facultad de Pedagogía de la Universidad de Barcelona. En el estudio se plantea la metodología utilizada y se analizan los principales resultados obtenidos.The design of collaborative learning environments through the Knowledge Forum: analysis of an experience This article addresses the problems in the design of collaborative learning environments with technological support in university education. Specifically, it describes the research carried out in the creation of methodology for working which focuses on problem-solving and is developed through a technological platform -the program Knowledge Forum- centred on three university courses in the Faculty of Pedagogy at the University of Barcelona.In the study, we set out the methodology used and an analysis of the main results obtained

Virtual learning process environment (VLPE): a BPM-based learning process management architecture

E-learning systems have significantly impacted the way that learning takes place within universities, particularly in providing self-learning support and flexibility of course delivery. Virtual Learning Environments help facilitate the management of educational courses for students, in particular by assisting course designers and thriving in the management of the learning itself. Current literature has shown that pedagogical modelling and learning process management facilitation are inadequate. In particular, quantitative information on the process of learning that is needed to perform real time or reflective monitoring and statistical analysis of students’ learning processes performance is deficient. Therefore, for a course designer, pedagogical evaluation and reform decisions can be difficult. This thesis presents an alternative e-learning systems architecture - Virtual Learning Process Environment (VLPE) - that uses the Business Process Management (BPM) conceptual framework to design an architecture that addresses the critical quantitative learning process information gaps associated with the conventional VLE frameworks. Within VLPE, course designers can model desired education pedagogies in the form of learning process workflows using an intuitive graphical flow diagram user-interface. Automated agents associated with BPM frameworks are employed to capture quantitative learning information from the learning process workflow. Consequently, course designers are able to monitor, analyse and re-evaluate in real time the effectiveness of their chosen pedagogy using live interactive learning process dashboards. Once a course delivery is complete the collated quantitative information can also be used to make major revisions to pedagogy design for the next iteration of the course. An additional contribution of this work is that this new architecture facilitates individual students in monitoring and analysing their own learning performances in comparison to their peers in a real time anonymous manner through a personal analytics learning process dashboard. A case scenario of the quantitative statistical analysis of a cohort of learners (10 participants in size) is presented. The analytical results of their learning processes, performances and progressions on a short Mathematics course over a five-week period are also presented in order to demonstrate that the proposed framework can significantly help to advance learning analytics and the visualisation of real time learning data

Designing and Delivering Interactive, Simulator-based Aviation Research Studies on the Web

Traditionally, interactive, simulator-based aviation research studies have been conducted in physical labs. However, the internet has allowed researchers to deliver experiments via web platforms, thus gaining the ability to reach out to larger populations, including subject-matter-experts. However, existing experiment delivery platforms are limited in delivering complex research studies. Such studies require multi-participant interaction, complex task environment, integration of standard experiment procedures with complex task environment, and a high degree of research controls over participant performance, selection, and data collection process. Such studies are often the ones that benefit the most from access to subject-matter-experts. There is a lack of a distributed, customizable, plug-and-play, online experiment platform capable of delivering the aforementioned types of studies. To address this gap, a novel prototype web platform, called the Integrated Modular Platform, was developed. The platform was designed to meet all the aforementioned requirements of a complex research study through integrating a website component with any PC-based simulator system to allow researchers to provide a real-time distributed simulation environment to multiple participants. A case study approach was used to provide initial validation of the developed platform and concept by using the Integrated Modular Platform to conduct a follow-up study on the effect of information asynchrony on pilot-controller communication. Information asynchrony describes the situation where the same piece of information is presented to two different parties at different times (Yuan & Histon, 2014). For the purpose of validating the platform, the platform was used to deliver a realistic ATC-flight simulator environment representative of the real world on the web, in combination with standard experiment procedures. As well, the Integrated Modular Platform was used to recruit subject-matter-expert participants to participate in the follow-up study, as part of demonstrating its ability to provide high research control. The result of the follow-up study showed that there were no generally observable effects on pilot-controller communication as information asynchrony increased. Factors that may have created this non-effect were identified and include challenges maintaining consistent operations with professional participants, and limitations in characterizing information asynchrony with time. The result of initial validation of the Integrated Modular Platform from the case study demonstrated the capability of an online simulation environment to represent real-world work practices. A majority of participants had positive experience with the case study overall. The recruitment of subject-matter-experts was also generally effective in terms of screening for qualified personnel, with improvements needed for online scheduling implementation. The result showed that the Integrated Modular Platform has the proven capability to successfully provide both realistic simulation environments on the web, in terms of ATC-flight operations, and high degree of research control with subject-matter-expert recruitment. Future work include further validating such capability for different simulation environments and recruitment needs. As well, there is still the need to validate platform’s ability to allow non-programming researchers to implement different types of complex research studies on the web, as this was not done in the case study