The Implementation of Virtual Classroom in English for Aviation

The shift of language learning from face-to-face classroom interaction to online learning beyond the classroom amidst the global pandemic of Covid-19 has changed how teachers and students deal with teaching and learning activities. Information and communication technology development, the nature of this engagement must be adapted to fit the hybrid approach of teaching and learning. In this qualitative study, observation and interviews were conducted to explore the implementation and investigate the learners’ perception of a virtual classroom in English for Aviation. An interactive model of data analysis was done for the observation sheet and interviewed data. The main findings were implementing a virtual classroom could build a relationship, increase engagement between teachers and students, and students’ participation in the classroom

Text Similarity Between Concepts Extracted from Source Code and Documentation

Context: Constant evolution in software systems often results in its documentation losing sync with the content of the source code. The traceability research field has often helped in the past with the aim to recover links between code and documentation, when the two fell out of sync. Objective: The aim of this paper is to compare the concepts contained within the source code of a system with those extracted from its documentation, in order to detect how similar these two sets are. If vastly different, the difference between the two sets might indicate a considerable ageing of the documentation, and a need to update it. Methods: In this paper we reduce the source code of 50 software systems to a set of key terms, each containing the concepts of one of the systems sampled. At the same time, we reduce the documentation of each system to another set of key terms. We then use four different approaches for set comparison to detect how the sets are similar. Results: Using the well known Jaccard index as the benchmark for the comparisons, we have discovered that the cosine distance has excellent comparative powers, and depending on the pre-training of the machine learning model. In particular, the SpaCy and the FastText embeddings offer up to 80% and 90% similarity scores. Conclusion: For most of the sampled systems, the source code and the documentation tend to contain very similar concepts. Given the accuracy for one pre-trained model (e.g., FastText), it becomes also evident that a few systems show a measurable drift between the concepts contained in the documentation and in the source code.</p

Multisensory learning in adaptive interactive systems

The main purpose of my work is to investigate multisensory perceptual learning and sensory integration in the design and development of adaptive user interfaces for educational purposes. To this aim, starting from renewed understanding from neuroscience and cognitive science on multisensory perceptual learning and sensory integration, I developed a theoretical computational model for designing multimodal learning technologies that take into account these results. Main theoretical foundations of my research are multisensory perceptual learning theories and the research on sensory processing and integration, embodied cognition theories, computational models of non-verbal and emotion communication in full-body movement, and human-computer interaction models. Finally, a computational model was applied in two case studies, based on two EU ICT-H2020 Projects, "weDRAW" and "TELMI", on which I worked during the PhD

Descriptive quality of experience for mobile 3D video

ilmenau.de} Perceptual quality evaluation experiments are used to assess the excellence of multimedia quality. However, these studies disregard qualitative experiential descriptions, interpretations, and impressions of quality. The goal of this paper is to identify general descriptive characteristics of experienced quality of 3D video on mobile devices. We conducted five studies in which descriptive data was collected after the psychoperceptual quality evaluation experiment. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and written attribute description tasks were conducted with over 90 naïve participants. The experiments contained an extensive and heterogeneous set of produced quality by varying content, level of depth, compression and transmission parameters, and audio and display factors for 3D. The results showed that quality of experience is constructed from four main components, 1) visual quality, 2) viewing experience, 3) content, and 4) quality of other modalities and their interactions. Author Keywords Quality perception, quality of experience, multimedia, 3

Learners’ Experiences of Written Complexities Development Through Discussion Board Activities in Chinese as a Foreign Language Class

This qualitative case study examines learners’ experiences in the development of written complexities during Discussion Board (DB) assignments in an Advanced university level Chinese class. Discussion Board was chosen as the avenue for written complexity development because it provides learners a supplementary space with additional time and opportunities for low anxiety writing. The data collection for this study came from two sources, DB posts and interviews. This study seeks to fill gap in the literature in two ways: one, this study proposes a measurement of written complexities that consists of propositional complexity, lexical sophistication and accuracy. Second, this study highlights student experiences and explores the learning process from their perspectives. Using Vygotsky’s (1978) Sociocultural theory as theoretical framework, the findings of this study generated new knowledge about what tools and strategies Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners used to develop written complexities during the DB discussion activities. Additionally, this study examined how CFL learners utilized DB activities and interactions on DB to develop written complexities. Finally, this study demonstrates how DB can serve as a supplementary learning space, where if designed appropriately, can lead to opportunities for students to develop their written complexities

Using open ended, ill formed problems to develop and assess Engineering Mathematics competencies.

The purpose of this paper is to report upon how an engineering mathematics class was used to provide a vehicle for students to develop mathematical competencies and hence higher order thinking skills within the broader field of engineering education. Specifically it provided students with the opportunities to think mathematically, reason mathematically, pose and resolve mathematical problems, to use technology to model resolutions, interpret and handle mathematical symbolism and to communicate their resolutions to peers and staff. Using the report produced by the Mathematics Working Group of SEFI (European Society for Engineering Education), which details a framework for mathematics curricula in engineering education (SEFI, 2013), a methodology was identified. This methodology was also based on work previously undertaken by the author (Peters, 2017; Peters, 2015). In section 2.1 (p 13) the report lists and describes a set of eight mathematical competencies: (1) Thinking mathematically, (2) reasoning mathematically, (3) posing and solving mathematical problems, (4) modelling mathematically, (5) representing mathematical entities, (6) handling mathematical symbols and formalism, (7) communicating in, with, and about mathematics and, (8) making use of aids and tools. The report also points out the importance of developing assessment procedures pertinent to competency acquisition (p7). The evidence from this investigation concludes that the majority of students found the experience challenging but worthwhile. They considered they had learnt important skills including the ability to form assumptions, persistence, time management, project management and an enhancement of their mathematical skills in relation to engineering

E-Learning and Digital Education in the Twenty-First Century

E-learning and digital education approaches are evolving and changing the landscape of teaching and learning at all levels of education throughout the world. Innovation of emerging learning technologies is assisting e-learning and digital education to meet the needs of the 21st century. Due to the digital transformation of everyday practice, the process of learning and education has become more self-paced and accessible at any time from anywhere. The new generations of digital natives are growing up with a set of skills through their engagement with the digital world. In this context, this book includes a collection of chapters to facilitate continuous improvements including flexibility and accessibility in e-learning and digital education by exploring the challenges and opportunities of innovative approaches through the lenses of current theories, policies, and practices

Modeling forward base camps as complex adaptive sociotechnical systems

Work for this thesis focuses on managing complexity within complex adaptive sociotechnical systems by using model based systems engineering and virtual engineering tools. The hypothesis of the work is that integrated virtual models can be used to increase the understanding of these complex adaptive sociotechnical systems, resulting in a reduction in the perceived complexity. This was tested by the use of a two factor survey given to experts of a system (the customer and members of the model design team) and to a target user-group. This group received a demonstration and had hands on experience with a preliminary model of the same system. Results of the survey show that new system designers using an integrated virtual modeling tool view the system as less complex than experts involved with designing the same system without using a tool. Further data is required to support this conclusion, and a plan for gathering more data is described. The application of this method to an emergency response system is then discussed to show how it can be applied to other complex sociotechnical systems and guidelines for applying this methodology are proposed