Mobile learning: benefits of augmented reality in geometry teaching

As a consequence of the technological advances and the widespread use of mobile devices to access information and communication in the last decades, mobile learning has become a spontaneous learning model, providing a more flexible and collaborative technology-based learning. Thus, mobile technologies can create new opportunities for enhancing the pupils’ learning experiences. This paper presents the development of a game to assist teaching and learning, aiming to help students acquire knowledge in the field of geometry. The game was intended to develop the following competences in primary school learners (8-10 years): a better visualization of geometric objects on a plane and in space; understanding of the properties of geometric solids; and familiarization with the vocabulary of geometry. Findings show that by using the game, students have improved around 35% the hits of correct responses to the classification and differentiation between edge, vertex and face in 3D solids.This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Design Star CDT (AH/L503770/1), the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) projects LARSyS (UID/EEA/50009/2013) and CIAC-Research Centre for Arts and Communication.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Electronic books: Are they effective educational tools for students who are deaf or hard of hearing?

This literature review will examine the effectiveness of electronic book features on students’ reading development in the general education population and investigate whether or not these digital tools could be a useful tool and/or supplement in literacy for students who are deaf and hard of hearing

Learning objects and learning designs: an integrated system for reusable, adaptive and shareable learning content

This paper proposes a system, the Smart Learning Design Framework, designed to support the development of pedagogically sound learning material within an integrated, platform-independent data structure. The system supports sharing, reuse and adaptation of learning material via a metadata-driven philosophy that enables the technicalities of the system to be imperceptible to the author and consumer. The system proposes the use of pedagogically focused metadata to support and guide the author and to adapt and deliver the content to the targeted consumer. A prototype of the proposed system, which provides proof of concept for the novel processes involved, has been developed. The paper describes the Smart Learning Design Framework and places it within the context of alternative learning object models and frameworks to highlight similarities, differences and advantages of the proposed system

Applying A Methodology For Educating Students With Special Needs: A Case Study

The introduction of innovative educational technologies opens up new ways of interacting with students. We propose to exploit this potential to help in the education of children with special needs. We analyze the state of the art of tools supporting the teaching process, focusing on the omissions of existing research. We propose a new framework to help throughout the whole teaching process and describe its application to Proyecto Aprender (Learn Project), an educational resource targeting children with learning difficulties. Finally, we outline some conclusions and current/future research lines

A generic framework for the development of standardised learning objects within the discipline of construction management

E-learning has occurred in the academic world in different forms since the early 1990s. Its use varies from interactive multimedia tools and simulation environments to static resources within learning management systems. E-learning tools and environments are no longer criticised for their lack of use in higher education in general and within the construction domain in particular. The main criticism, however, is that of reinventing the wheel in order to create new learning environments that cater for different educational needs. Therefore, sharing educational content has become the focus of current research, taking e-learning into a whole new era of developments. This era is enabled by the emergence of new technologies (online and wireless) and the development of educational standards, such as SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) and LOM (Learning Object Metadata) for example. Accordingly, the broad definition of the construction domain and the interlocking nature of subjects taught within this domain, makes the concept of sharing content most appealing. This paper proposes a framework developed to describe the various steps required in order to enable the application of e-learning metadata standards and ontology for sharable learning objects to serve the construction discipline. The paper further describes the application of the proposed framework to a case study for developing an online environment for learning objects that are standardised, sharable, transparent and that cater for the needs of learners, educators and curricula developers in Construction Management. Based on the framework, a learning objects repository is developed incorporating educational and web standards. The repository manages objects as well as metadata using ontology and offers a set of services such as storing, retrieving and searching of learning objects using Semantic Web technologies. Thus, it increases the reusability, sharability and interoperability of learning objects

Multimedia and e-Learning integration for supporting training programs in agriculture by MOODLE

The NODES project aims at facilitating, for adult training / lifelong training, the use of multimedia knowledge to improve competitiveness employability and mobility of handicapped adults (physical and sensorial) and of adults victims of the digital divide or of some of its components such as distance, initial level of knowledge, language, use of complex technologies. The NODES project is focused, on the wide sense, on the production and diffusion of knowledge created within public and private organizations dedicated to adult training or by individuals, through Europe. Within the project the MOODLE e-Learning system was selected and more multimedia content will be integrated into the knowledge base. The EU-Index metadatabase collects content sources for the project partners. Another target is to integrate video files into the systems. This parts are integrated by the logical and physical architectures of the NODES