Adult Learning Sign Language by combining video, interactivity and play in a 3D game platform

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or a disorder they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the design of interactive games to support learning BSL supporting the entire learning cycle, instruction, practice and assessment. It then describes the proposed design of a game based on this framework aiming to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment, by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper concludes with the planning of a large scale study and directions for further development of this educational resource

VEmap: A Visualization Tool for Evaluating Emotional Responses in Virtual Environments

VEMap (virtual emotion map) can be seen as an advanced application of virtual environment (VE) technology to aid with design activities in architecture and urban planning, which can assist designers to understand users’ opinions. The aim of this research and development work is to create a software application that allows designers to evaluate a user’s emotional response to virtual representations of architectural or urban planning environments. In this project, a galvanic skin response (GSR) test is adopted as an objective measurement for collecting skin conductance data representing emotional arousal. At the same time, the user’s self-reports are used as a form of subjective measurement for identifying emotional valence (i.e. positive, neutral, and negative). Finally, all of the information collected from both GSR readings (objective measurement) and self-reports (subjective measurement) are converted into coloured dots on the base map of the corresponding virtual environment (VE). According to the results of the VEmap evaluation and validation procedure, the beta-testing and evaluation of this project has been confirmed that VEmap may interpret users’ emotional changes as evoked by VE mostly. From a usability perspective, there is no obvious difficulty present for participants on all the controls. Moreover, according to participants’ comments, VEmap may increase users’ interests and promote their involvement if it is applied in architectural design and urban planning. However, gender might have influence on self-report part, and virtual reality usage or 3D game experiences might affect navigation in VE

Exploring the use of a virtual reality learning environment to support innovation education in Iceland

Innovation Education (IE) in Iceland aims to train students to identify needs and problems in their environment and to find solutions: this is referred to as the process of ideation. The thesis explores the contexts of teaching and learning, incorporating the VRLE with IE to support the students’ work. There is a focus on blended learning, as the VRLE is used in conjunction with conventional classroom-based activity. The work employed the grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) perspective, in order to observe the complex social/educational activity relating to this real-life learning context. It was intended to build understanding (grounded theory), rather than an attempt to establish cause and effect. The author intended to observe, describe and interpret settings as sources of data and the main aim was to gain a greater understanding of the use of the VRLE in supporting students work in conventional Innovation Education classes within Icelandic schools. The overall research question was: ‘How does the use of the VRLE affect teacher’s pedagogy and the students’ work, in conventional Innovation Education in Iceland?’ [Continues.

Análisis de la Difusión de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación en la Provincia de Córdoba : ¿Cuál es la realidad de la brecha digital en la región y qué factores inciden en ella?

1. Presentación del Problema de Estudio.—Introducción.-- 2. Revisión Bibliográfica y Marco Teórico.-- Etapas del desarrollo de la sociedad capitalista.-- Sociedad de la Información / Conocimiento -- Datos - información – conocimiento. Definición de TICs. El proceso de digitalización.-- Nuevo modelo de sociedad. Características de la sociedad del conocimiento.-- Relación “desarrollo tecnológico” vs. “desarrollo de la sociedad”.-- Brecha Digital. Definición. Avance tecnológico, desarrollo socioeconómico y Brecha Digital. Factores que inciden en la aparición y crecimiento de la Brecha Digital.-- Objetivos de la investigación.-- 3. Metodología de la Investigación y Procedimientos.-- Hipótesis y diseño de la investigación.-- Antecedentes metodológicos.-- Metodología utilizada.--Operacionalización de los conceptos de brecha digital y desarrollo socioeconómico.-- Información utilizada: Fuentes, características y limitaciones.-- Descripción de la tabla de datos.-- Descripción de los métodos estadísticos.--a) Estudio exploratorio.-- b) Modelo de factor común confirmatorio.-- c) Análisis espacial.-- 4. Análisis de resultados.—Resultados. Análisis exploratorio. Resultados del análisis factorial confirmatorio. Análisis espacial-- 5. Conclusiones y discusión.-- Conclusiones y discusiónLas Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación (TICs) han sido definidas como sistemas tecnológicos mediante los que se recibe, manipula y procesa información, y que facilitan la comunicación entre dos o más interlocutores (CEPAL, 2003a). Las TICs se han involucrando cada vez en más facetas de la vida social; desde las comunicaciones (mail, telefonía móvil), pasando por el entretenimiento (Internet), el comercio (ecommerce), la banca (homebanking), el trabajo (teletrabajo), llegando a la educación (e-learning), entre tantos otros. La utilización de TICs conduce necesariamente al proceso de digitalización, mediante el cual se codifican textos, sonidos, voz, imágenes o video en dígitos binarios, permitiendo recibir y manipular la información, y también comunicarla (CEPAL, 2003a). La Sociedad de la Información y la Sociedad del Conocimiento son una consecuencia directa de este desarrollo tecnológico. En la Declaración de Bávaro de la Conferencia Ministerial Regional preparatoria de América Latina y el Caribe para la Cumbre Mundial sobre la Sociedad de la Información convocada por Naciones Unidas (CMSI, 2003), los países representados, definieron la sociedad de la información como un sistema económico y social donde el conocimiento y la información constituyen fuentes fundamentales de bienestar y progreso, que representa una oportunidad para los países y sociedades. Por su parte, los países participantes en dicha Primera Cumbre Mundial de la Sociedad de la Información (CMSI, Ginebra 2003) declararon su compromiso de construir una Sociedad de la Información centrada en la persona, integradora y orientada al desarrollo, en que todos puedan crear, consultar, utilizar y compartir la información y el conocimiento, para que las personas, las comunidades y los pueblos puedan emplear plenamente sus posibilidades en la promoción de su desarrollo sostenible y en la mejora de su calidad de vida. Reconocieron que la educación, el conocimiento, la información y la comunicación son esenciales para el progreso, la iniciativa y el bienestar de los seres humanos. Consideraron a las TICs un medio y no un fin en sí mismas y sostuvieron que en condiciones favorables, estas tecnologías pueden ser un instrumento eficaz para acrecentar la productividad, generar crecimiento económico, crear empleos y fomentar la ocupación, así como mejorar la calidad de la vida de todos, y promover la comunicación entre las personas, las naciones y las civilizaciones. En el manifiesto que firman en aquella oportunidad reconocen que, en la actualidad, las ventajas de la revolución de la tecnología de la información están desigualmente distribuidas entre los países desarrollados y en desarrollo, así como dentro de las sociedades, y se comprometen a convertir la “brecha digital” en una oportunidad digital para todos, especialmente para aquellos que corren peligro de quedar rezagados y aún más marginados. Este compromiso fue reafirmado por la Segunda Cumbre Mundial (CMSI, 2005). De lo expresado en el párrafo anterior se deduce que si bien las TICs son un instrumento para mejorar el bienestar y la calidad de vida, no están exentas de inconvenientes ya que pueden ser causa de una nueva forma de exclusión social denominada brecha digital, es decir, la distancia que se produce entre quienes tienen y los que no tienen acceso a la red y a las TICs. No acceder y, principalmente, no utilizar todo el potencial disponible de las computadoras, Internet, o cualquiera de las TICs, no es sólo un problema económico, sino también cultural y social. En este trabajo interesa investigar la brecha digital y su relación con el nivel socioeconómico de la población en una jurisdicción específica de la República Argentina, la Provincia de Córdoba.La diversidad de factores geográficos que se observan en la provincia de Córdoba, como el suelo, el clima, los recursos hídricos, etc., han contribuido en la generación de una importante diferenciación socio-económica entre las distintas regiones. El objetivo general es indagar si la existencia de diferencias socio-económicas está asociada a la formación de una brecha digital entre las regiones del territorio provincial. Si bien la difusión de las TICs y la brecha digital han sido estudiadas comparando países con diferente grado de desarrollo, es poco lo que se ha estudiado acerca de este fenómeno en el interior de un país, de una región, o de jurisdicciones más pequeñas, dilucidando los factores o determinantes que contribuyen a su profundización. El propósito de este trabajo se alcanza a partir de desarrollo de diferentes etapas en el estudio de esta problemática: Análisis Factorial: - en una primera etapa de realiza un análisis exploratorio para determinar las dimensiones de los aspectos socioeconómicos y desarrollo tecnológico y la relación entre ellos; - en una segunda etapa se usa un análisis confirmatorio que permite validar las variables o indicadores que componen cada concepto y la relación entre ambos. Análisis Espacial: - Primero se construyen mapas temáticos identificando patrones en la distribución de los índices; - Cálculo del coeficiente de correlación espacial para determinar si un nivel de brecha digital en un área geográfica está determinado por el valor alcanzado por las zonas vecinas.Fil: Díaz, Cecilia Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas; Argentina

Simulated Ecological Environments for Education: A Tripartite Model Framework of HCI Design Parameters for Situational Learning in Virtual Environments

While there are many studies on collaborative or guided scientific inquiry in real, virtual,and simulated environments, there are few that study the interplay between the design ofthe simulation and the user interface. The main research aim was to decompose thesimulation and user interface into the design parameters that influence attention,curiosity, inquiry, and learning of scientific material and acts of creation for children.The research design investigates what tools support independent exploration of a space,enhance deep learning, and motivate scientific or creative inquiry. A major interest is inthe role that ecological context plays in the perception of spatial information.None of the prior work on learning in virtual environments considered a child-centriccomputer interaction framing, independent of pedagogy and focused on the impact ofuser interface parameters, such as image quality and navigational freedom. A majorcontribution of this research is the construction of the Virtual Trillium Trail, as itrepresents one square mile of biologically accurate scientific plot study data. It is avirtual environment based on statistical data visualization, not fantasy. It allowed for ahighly realistic simulation and scientifically true-to-life visualization, as well as for aplanned orthogonal contrast with exceptionally high internal validity in both system andstatistical research design.Of critical importance is evidence in the pilot study, that virtual reality field trips forstudents may be used to prime before and to reinforce after a real field trip. Thisresearch also showed transfer effects on in-situ learning activity, in both directions.Thus, supports the claim that virtual environments may augment educational practices,not replace them, to maximize the overall learning impact. The other large contributionwas in the activity analysis of the real field trip, where the Salamander Effect is observedas an environmental event, which opened a Teachable Moment event for the teacher, andwhich was then translated into a system design feature, a Salient Event in the userinterface. A main part of this research is the importance of such events, as ways tosupport intrinsic learning activity, and leverage episodic memory.The main empirical contribution to the design of educational virtual environments wasproduced by the 2 x 2 ANOVA with the factors of Visual Fidelity and NavigationalFreedom, set to high and low levels, and the evidence of different effects on KnowledgeGained. The tool has an impact on intrinsic learning, which is measured here by a pretestand a post-test on facts and concepts. A two-factor analysis of variance showed asignificant effect of Visual Fidelity on Knowledge Gained, F(1,60) = 10.54, p = 0.0019.High Visual Fidelity condition has a greater impact on Knowledge Gained (M=30.95, SD=14.76), than Low Visual Fidelity condition (M=19.99, SD = 13.39). Photorealistic has astronger impact on learning than cartoon versions. There was significant interactionbetween Visual Fidelity and Navigational Freedom, F(1,60) = 4.85, p = 0.0315, with thelargest impact in the combined conditions of High Visual Fidelity and High NavigationalFreedom on Knowledge Gained (M=37.44, SD = 13.88). Thus, photorealistic, freenavigation virtual environments double learning, when compared to cartoon versions,ceteris paribus.The next major contribution to the design of the user interface in educational virtualenvironments is the design and use of Salient Events as components to augment thevirtual environment and to facilitate intrinsic inquiry into facts and concepts. A two factoranalysis of variance showed a significant effect of Visual Fidelity on Salient Eventcounts, F(1,60) = 4.35, p = 0.00413. High Visual Fidelity condition has a greater impacton Salient Event counts, (Μ = 14.46, SD = 6), than Low Visual Fidelity condition,(Μ =11.31, SD = 6.37). Using High Visual Fidelity with High Navigational Freedom(showing a strong trend of F(1,60) = 3.23, p = 0.0773) to increase Salient Event countsare critical design features for educational virtual environments, especially since SalientEvents are moderately positively correlated with Knowledge Gained (r = 0.455, N = 64, p= 0.000).Emotional, affective, aesthetic, and subjective attitudes were investigated in the post-experience assessment of the main study on system and learning experience. TotalAttitude is strongly positively and significantly correlated with Awe and Wonder (r =0.727, N = 64, p = 0.000). Also important is the strong, positive, and significantcorrelation of Beauty with Awe and Wonder (r = 0.506, N = 64, p = 0.000). And the onlysignificant subjective emotion or attitude variable correlated to Knowledge Gained, wasAwe and Wonder with a slightly positive statistic: (r = 0.273, N = 64, p = 0.000).Future research will investigate the complexity and causality of such interactions betweenthe child's mental model, the virtual environment, and the user interface in the form ofregression equations, partial differential equations, and Markov models

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE IN VIRTUAL REALITY DOES IMMERSION REALLY AID LEARNING?

This study explored whether students benefited from an immersive panoramic display while studying subject matter that is visually complex and information-rich. Specifically, middle-school students learned about ancient Egyptian art and society using an educational learning game, Gates of Horus, which is based on a simplified three dimensional computer model of an Egyptian temple. First, we demonstrated that the game is an effective learning tool by comparing written post-test results from students who played the game and students in a no-treatment control group. Next, we compared the learning results of two groups of students who used the same mechanical controls to navigate through the computer model of the temple and to interact with its features. One of the groups saw the temple on a standard computer desktop monitor while the other-saw it in a visually immersive display (a partial dome) The major difference in the test results between the two groups appeared when the students gave a verbal show-and-tell presentation about the Temple and the facts and concepts related to it. During that exercise, the students had no cognitive scaffolding other than the Virtual Egyptian Temple which was projected on a wall. The student navigated through the temple and described its major features. Students who had used the visually immersive display volunteered notably more than those who had used a computer monitor. The other major tests were questionnaires, which by their nature provide a great deal of scaffolding for the task of recalling the required information. For these tests we believe that this scaffolding aided students' recall to the point where it overwhelmed the differences produced by any difference in the display. We conclude that the immersive display provides better supports for the student's learning activities for this material. To our knowledge, this is the first formal study to show concrete evidence that visual immersion can improve learning for a non-science topic

Adult Learning Sign Language by combining video, interactivity and play

One in every six persons in the UK suffers a hearing loss, either as a condition they have been born with or a disorder they acquired during their life. 900,000 people in the UK are severely or profoundly deaf and based on a study by Action On Hearing Loss UK in 2013 only 17 percent of this population, can use the British Sign Language (BSL). That leaves a massive proportion of people with a hearing impediment who do not use sign language struggling in social interaction and suffering from emotional distress, and an even larger proportion of Hearing people who cannot communicate with those of the deaf community. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the design of interactive games to support learning BSL supporting the entire learning cycle, instruction, practice and assessment. It then describes the proposed design of a game based on this framework aiming to close the communication gap between able hearing people and people with a hearing impediment, by providing a tool that facilitates BSL learning targeting adult population. The paper concludes with the planning of a large scale study and directions for further development of this educational resource